5 Best VPNs for Mac in 2018 – Use a VPN Service to Secure Your Mac. Last time people think how to improve their online safety and how to get Using VPN for Macbook gives users many advantages. You are not afraid of censorship by your government, you can unblock any geo-limited content.
Table of Contents. A is a great way to take control of your online experience and protect yourself from the hazards of digital life.
With a lot of players on the market, though, the choice of which to use can be daunting. We’ve taken a look at some of the options to find the best VPN for Mac. The Mac has had far less security issues than Windows over the years., though, and it pays to take security seriously.
Using a VPN will give you an edge against hackers and snoops. If you’re using your Mac as an entertainment hub you may be frustrated at being unable to access overseas content. Mac users traveling the world may also find themselves in countries that restrict access to news or social media websites.
A VPN can help you get around geoblocks and access the content you want in safety. ExpressVPN, our overall winner, scores well on all these points, but more on that later. The Best VPN for Mac 2018. What Makes a VPN the Best For Mac Some built-in features on macOS, such as, are nice to have, but can be improved upon, as our article shows. Is another area where you might want to look at an external service. Many of the benefits of a VPN are not dependent on the operating system.
Our general article on explains the benefits a quality VPN service can provide, but there are things that will make a service especially suitable for Mac owners. Mac software tends to be well-designed, simple and offers a clear, intuitive user interface.
VPN apps that are a good should integrate well with the platform and follow the appropriate conventions. It should be easy to use and able to run without much fuss. While options for power users are welcome, being able to get up and running without having to do too much tweaking will score points here. Quality customer service is also a key feature of the Mac experience, so we’ll be checking VPN providers for that, too. We’re looking for services that provide fast, reliable support, preferably via multiple channels.
Thankfully, finding one of those wasn’t too hard. Best VPN for Mac: Much like the Mac, ExpressVPN is slick, easy to use and expensive. That makes it a great fit for the OS. As discussed in our, it gets almost everything right. Using the app is simple, with a big round button to click when you want to connect. The button turns green when connected.
A smaller button lets you choose from the many server locations. It adds an icon to the Mac menu bar which you can click to quickly access its features. With AES 256-bit encryption and a strict no logging policy, ExpressVPN has you covered for security and privacy. It features split tunneling, which lets you control which of your apps use the VPN. It’s useful if you have specific services that work fine over your regular connection.
We don’t see this feature included on VPNs often enough, so big points to ExpressVPN here. There’s also a killswitch to prevent your VPN traffic from going through your other connection if the VPN fails. That can be important if you’re worried about the privacy of your regular connection. Other Reasons We Like ExpressVPN ExpressVPN offers blistering speeds and was the quickest in our roundup of the.
You can test the server speeds in the app and switch servers easily. Its speeds make it ideal for streaming, gaming or torrenting. Customer service is excellent, offering live chat around the clock and email support.
ExpressVPN also has an extensive knowledgebase and clear FAQ. You are limited to three devices, which, price aside, is our only real gripe with the service.
On the plus side, it supports a wide range of devices, including apps for PlayStation, Xbox and Apple TV, along with all major OS and smartphone platforms. It also has browser extensions for Chrome, Firefox and Safari. ExpressVPN is not cheap, coming in at $99.95 per year. We think it is worth the price, though, considering the quality of service you get.
In addition to being the best for Mac, we consider it the overall provider. There is a for the first 30 days, too. It features auto-connect and a killswitch, so, once you set it up, you don’t need to worry about it much.
It does lack split tunneling, though. Customer service is good, with a large knowledgebase and responsive live chat service available.
There is also email support, but we found it slow. Still, should you run into an issue with NordVPN, you are well-served. Other Reasons We Like NordVPN It has an impressive network with over 4,000 servers in 62 countries, meaning it is likely to be fast wherever you are in the world. It also does well at connecting to streaming services. Our test results included successful connections to Netflix, BBC iPlayer, Hulu and Amazon Prime Video. We saw the occasional speed drop over long-distance connections, but you have access to many servers and will usually be able to find a faster one. NordVPN also offers “speciality servers” that cater to different needs.
They include peer-to-peer servers, obscured servers for those in countries that restrict internet usage and other options focused on security and privacy. Those wanting to use a VPN for Netflix may want to check out our guide on, too. Much like ExpressVPN, NordVPN offers a, so take it for a spin.
Ooh pretty The tile-based start-up UI might give Mac owners the uncomfortable feeling that they’re using Windows, but the app is straightforward and presents its server list and many options clearly. The brightly colored tiles are plainly labeled and allow you to navigate the app in a task-oriented fashion. The various screens allow you to change settings based on your focus. There are options to help with unblocking streaming services, as well as adjust your privacy and security settings.
The “choose my server” tab, for example, lets you rank the available servers by speed. CyberGhost is fast, especially in Europe, and connected to all the streaming services we tested, but we needed to switch servers a couple of times to get the best out of it. It lacks split tunneling, but has a killswitch and an “app protection” feature that automatically tunes the settings on start-up to the apps you have running.
Privacy and security are also strengths. It keeps no logs and doesn’t need any information from you besides your email address, which makes it ideal for privacy-conscious users. Like most of our favorite services, it uses AES 256-bit encryption for extra security. CyberGhost activates automatically when connecting to wireless networks.
Though convenient, WiFi networks can leave you vulnerable to hackers, as mentioned in our article, so that is a useful feature. Other Reasons We Like CyberGhost CyberGhost provides the quality customer service that Mac owners expect with responsive live chat agents and email inquiries handled in good time. It also has an extensive knowledgebase to search through if you have problems. At $59.88 for its annual plan, CyberGhost is easier on the wallet than the two services above and, like them, offers a. The three-year plan is even better value at $99.99.
You can also take advantage of its seven-day free trial if you want to dip your toe in the water before signing up. Overall, CyberGhost is a good service that’s cheaper than our two top picks, but comes with a couple of minor quibbles. Private Internet Access is famous for its advocacy of and its service prioritizes security and privacy. It is a good choice if those are your concerns. After going through the straightforward sign up and installation process, you have to enter your login details. The UI is minimalist and launched from the menu bar, though it does contain many options if you look for them. Connecting is just a matter of selecting “connect” from the menu.
You can accept the default server or pick from a list of countries and, in some cases, cities. You can also send a slow speed complaint from the menu, presumably allowing PIA to get on to fixing the problem. PIA is very fast and hit impressive speeds throughout the world during our testing. That, combined with its low ping scores, makes it an ideal VPN for. It isn’t as hot on streaming, though. Hulu and iPlayer blocked us.
PIA is big on privacy and, in addition to keeping no logs, allows you to sign up without providing much identifying information. It is also strong on security, using the OpenVPN protocol by default and passing all our leak tests, as described in our. Customer service is via a knowledgebase and a support system that uses email and a web form. There’s no live chat and the response to our test email took a few hours to arrive. Though the knowledgebase is good, we wouldn’t describe customer service as one of PIA’s strengths.
Other Reasons We Like PIA In addition to a killswitch, PIA includes automatic malware and ad blocking, but it doesn’t have split tunneling., including five simultaneous connections, PIA is priced well for a quality service. It lacks a few frills, but the core features are excellent. We recommend it for price-conscious and technically confident users who are happy to solve their own problems. Those who need quick, regular support are best served elsewhere. GooseVPN is a new kid on the block, but already boasts many impressive features backed by excellent support. Setting it up is easy. Once installed, it looks pleasant, but the UI has minor issues, such as the client window not being dragable and the options menu being hidden when first opened.
It has a no-logs policy and offers several protocols. We recommend OpenVPN because it’s the most secure, if slower than the others. The AES 256-bit encryption should help keep hackers at bay, too. It has a killswitch, activated by the “VPN always on” setting, which isn’t as clear as it could be. Split tunneling is not yet available, but will be soon, apparently.
Speeds are fast and GooseVPN has several P2P servers, making it a good choice for. Its pings are high for gaming, though, and connecting to streaming services was a mixed bag. We got into Netflix but not BBC iPlayer. Its server network is limited, but that will hopefully improve. It has just over 100 servers, which are mostly in Europe and North America. Africa and South America only have one server each, so take a look at to confirm that it has servers where you need them. Other Reasons We Like GooseVPN GooseVPN claims it will try to add a server in a particular location if you let the company know you need it.
As customer service goes that is impressive. Support is a strength of GooseVPN’s, with help offered 24/7. As well as a live chat service, there is email support. During our testing, we got a response in less than an hour. The company says support is in-house, rather than outsourced. There’s also a FAQ and knowledgebase that includes useful YouTube videos.
As detailed in our, the customer service is second to none and a strong point for Mac owners used to comprehensive support. The, which isn’t too bad and allows unlimited connections. Overall, GooseVPN is a nice, fast option with great customer service and one that we hope will improve further over the coming months. Final Thoughts As we’ve seen, Mac users have many strong choices for a VPN that works well on the platform. Comes out as our best option for the Mac, thanks to its speed, support and all-around quality, but there are other good choices. We found to have the best customer support of the offerings, with also doing well.
NordVPN has a fantastic network for streamers, too, while GooseVPN is adding servers all the time. For the budget-conscious, CyberGhost is cheaper than ExpressVPN and easy to use. PIA is even cheaper, with strong core features and low ping scores that make it ideal for gamers. We’d love to hear your experiences with the VPNs on our list. They all have their strengths and we hope you can find one that matches your needs.
If you know of any other VPNs that work well with the Mac, we’d like to hear about those, too. Please share your experiences in the comments. Thanks for reading.
Last Updated: December 21, 2018 Whether you want to protect your data and privacy online or access websites that are restricted in your region, a Virtual Private Network (VPN) is definitely your best option. But choosing the best VPN software for Mac isn’t easy nowadays with so many options available. Mac users are increasingly being targeted by cybercriminals and VPNs are an extremely cost-effective way to protect yourself from eavesdropping, theft of passwords, logins and financial data. VPNs also allow you to access sites that may be blocked by your office, educational institution, Internet Service Provider (ISP) and enable you to stream content on sites such as Netflix, Hulu, BBC iPlayer or via Kodi that may be blocked in your region. However, there are definitely some VPN services that are better than others and some that work well with macOS compared to others. The good news for Mac uses is that the VPN market has never been more competitive with. We’ve tried and tested the 13 best VPN services that work on Mac and give you our opinion on the best ones to use for 2019.
What is a VPN? A Virtual Private Network (VPN) is basically a “tunnel” that masks your location and encrypts or re-routes your internet traffic. This has three main advantages:. Your internet usage and IP address remain anonymous or at the least, very difficult to trace.
Your internet activities are encrypted so that no one, including your ISP or even VPN provider can intercept and read anything you submit over the net (including which apps you’re using at any one time). You can access websites or unlock streaming services that may be geo-blocked in your region. For most people though, the number one reason for using a VPN is privacy protection. In the early days of the internet, there was far less tracking by both internet service providers, advertisers, search engines and authorities. However, as the internet developed and invaded every facet if our day-to-day lives, this situation changed until most people are tracked one way or another from the minute they turn on a computer or mobile device until the moment they switch it off. In which situations is a VPN useful? A VPN can be useful in a variety of circumstances but the most common are:.
To protect your privacy either on a public WiFi point or from your Internet Service Provider (ISP) at home. Particularly if you access a WiFi network in a coffee shop or hotel for example, there are no guarantees that the network is secure. Your login details for banking and passwords for other sites are at risk if someone is listening in. Just because a WiFi connection is protected by a password, does not mean it is a secure. A hacker can “listen in” to your Mac’s communication between the WiFi network and your Mac and steal data. These attacks are often known as. To get around geo-restrictions.
Many websites, apps and services have content that is only accessible in certain countries such as Hulu and Netflix in the USA and the BBC iPlayer in the UK. A VPN can allow you to to circumvent these restrictions by making the app think you are accessing it from an authorized region. So for example, if you want to access US Netflix on Hulu outside of the US, a VPN can help you do so. Some sites forbid streaming of their content outside of specific countries or regions though so you should also be aware of this too. To access a closed network from another location. For example, if you want to work at home or away from the office, a VPN can allow you to do so. By logging into the VPN, you can access your office network securely as if you were in the office.
Office VPN networks are usually setup by your office administration team and don’t involve commercial VPN services that are featured here as this can also be achieved with. Note that although a proxy can perform some of these functions, a VPN is not the same thing as a proxy. Although using a proxy re-routes your internet connection via a different location, it doesn’t provide anything like the protection or reliability of a VPN.
Are there any free VPNs for Mac? You won’t find any free VPN services to Mac that offer the kind of security and reliability of the apps featured here. The most important catch with any free VPN is that they simply do not offer the same level of security, features and privacy as a paid service. In fact, a trade-off for using the service for free is that your personal data is either exposed or sold on to third parties. Free VPNs also tend to install either toolbars or third-party software on your Mac so our advice is, if you want a reliable VPN for Mac, you’re much better off paying for one. Proper VPN services are incredibly cheap nowadays and you can get top quality VPNs like and for just a few dollars per month.
However, most of the Mac VPN apps reviewed here either offer a money back trial period or in some cases, a limited free version. Is it legal to use a VPN service?
It’s perfectly legal to use a VPN as long as it’s for legitimate purposes. If you are planning on using a VPN for illegal activities however, then think again. No VPN provider is above the law and if an authority legitimately suspects you of criminal activity, it can demand data about your activities from the VPN provider you’re using. This may include using a VPN for P2P downloading which is illegal for copyrighted material in many countries.
It goes without saying that MacHow2 does not endorse the use of VPNs for unlawful means. It is the users responsibility to ensure that they adhere to lawful use of VPNs. However, as long as the material you are downloading is legal and not copyrighted, a VPN is perfectly legit and can even help in boosting download speeds.
What to look for in the best Mac VPN clients There are a few essential features to look for in any reputable VPN network. All of the VPN apps reviewed here have the following:. Mac Desktop Client: Most VPNs work across platforms nowadays and offer a Mac desktop app.
All the VPNs featured here are guaranteed to work on Mac or have a Mac app. Multiple Servers: The more servers a VPN tool has, the more locations can you can mask yourself in and generally the more reliable the service is in terms of up time as it can fall back on another server if one fails. Strong Encryption: Almost all offer a minimum of AES 256-bit encryption which is extremely strong. However, some like NordVPN offer “double encryption” for extra security. Terms such as “military grade” or “bank level” security is purely sales talk and AES 256-bit encryption or better is what to look for.
Simultaneous Connections: If you want to connect your phone or more than one Mac/PC, most VPN services support multiple connections usually anything from 3 to 7 depending on the service. Kill Switch: If your internet connection fails for any reason, it’s important your VPN connection cuts the connection to prevent your data being suddenly exposed.
All reputable VPNs include a kill switch which triggers automatically in the event of an outage or security issue. No Log Policy: Most VPN providers do not log any history your internet usage for your own protection and privacy.
This also protects the VPN services as they have none of your data to steal or hand over. However it should be noted that some do this in different ways to others and if this is a concern, you should check with the provider.
Leak Protection: This protects you against holes in any software that you’re using that may allow your ISP to discover your identity or track your activity. OpenVPN Integration: is an open source VPN protocol which is widely considered the most secure there is. Many of the best VPN apps for Mac are based on OpenVPN and in some cases, too. Money Back Guarantee: All reputable VPN software allow you to get your money back if you’re not satisfied. This is usually 30 days but can vary. Many VPNs also allow you to try them for free first. With all this in mind, here are our reviews of the best VPNs for Mac to use in 2019.
Is our top rated VPN on Mac for one main reason – rock solid privacy. Most people who want a VPN are looking for privacy protection and NordVPN takes measures to protect you that go that little bit further than any other service. Most VPNs encrypt your internet traffic once. NordVPN uses a special “Double VPN” system which encrypts your traffic not just once but twice making it virtually impossible to read or decrypt. Not only this, but NordVPN is extremely fast with over 5000 servers in 62 countries. This makes it easy to stream content that’s usually not available in your region or download via P2P.
It includes its own specially encrypted chat tool for chatting securely onlinee, special browser extensions for extra protection and integration with OpenVPN. Canada based NordVPN has a strict zero logs policy which means it does not record any of your user data or browsing history.
NordVPN also allows you to easily switch region and stream content that’s blocked in your country including Netflix, BBC iPlayer, Hulu and Amazon Prime. Note that for watching Netflix securely using NordVPN there are. NordVPN also has a very easy to use desktop client for both Mac and iOS. You can try a and then you have the choice of 4 different plans with a money back guarantee. You can currently get a on 3 year deals which means you get it for just $2.99 per month.
Like NordVPN, offers ultra high privacy with a no logs policy. If there’s any interruption to your encrypted connection, CyberGhost immediately triggers a kill-switch. CyberGhost is extremely easy to use. Just flip a switch and you are instantly connected to one of CyberGhost’s 3000+ servers in over 60 countries and totally anonymous online. CyberGhost even has special servers dedicated to delivering high-speed torrent downloading. For streaming blocked content in another country, you can instantly switch to an IP address in that region and get around geo-restrictions. Finally, you can also customize CyberGhost to trigger depending on which WiFi network or device you’re connecting from.
Overall, CyberGhost is extremely fast, safe and easy to use. CyberGhost is also currently making it just $2.75 per month with a 45 day money back guarantee. Is made by Silicon Valley’s AnchorFree and was one of the very first VPNs. It now claims it has around 650 million users using its Virtual Private Networks. Hotspot Shield uses over 2500 servers and has over 30 patents on its encryption technology providing extremely secure connections. Hotspot Shield also uses multiple server locations at one time which deliver stronger and faster speeds over long distances.
Hotspot Shield is one of the few VPN providers that offers a decent limited free VPN service with no time restriction on how long you can use it. The requires no sign-up, credit card or other details to get started although it’s nowhere near as fast, secure and powerful as Hotspot Shield Elite. On two-year subscriptions which works out at $3.99 per month. Boasts one of the widest networks of servers of any VPN service with 148 locations covered. So if you need to stream content from a specific country, it’s probably covered by ExpressVPN. ExpressVPN also uses the open source OpenVPN protocol which is widely recognized as the securest VPN standard there is. We also like the fact that ExpressVPN supports split tunneling which means you can specify which apps can and can’t use the VPN connection on your Mac.
ExpressVPN has a desktop client for Mac and works on all version of macOS. There are also apps for iPhone or iPad and you can even setup for Mac to share a VPN connection over WiFi with other Macs or devices. ExpressVPN is extremely simple to use with lightening fast connections and huge selection of regions to choose from. 12 month subscriptions with 3 months extra for free making it $6.67 per month. Is often overlooked by Mac users because it’s not so well-known but it’s actually a very secure, solid and fast VPN app for macOS.
PIA for Mac has more than 3000 servers in 33 countries and offers multi-gigabit connections for extremely fast connections. This includes Tunnels for OpenVPN, PPTP and IPSEC/L2TP VPN. PIA does not keep any traffic or request logs, is DD-WRT VPN compatible, allows unmetered VPN transfers and includes a SOCKS5 proxy. PIA is also a popular recommendation among users looking for the best VPN for Mac on reddit which is often a good endorsement of any software. On two-year deals which works out at $2.91 per month with a 7 day money back guarantee. What we like about TunnelBear is its jargon free, user-friendly approach to VPNs. TunnelBear is also the only VPN in the world that’s been for security.
Although all VPNs are easy to use nowadays, TunnelBear is about the easiest you can use with a simple interface that shows you where in the world you’re connected and other locations available. There are only 22 locations available in TunnelBear which is less than many other VPNs but connections are fast and all major regions are covered. TunnelBear uses strong AES 256-bit encryption and blocks any unsecured traffic until it can guarantee that your identity and surfing habits are untraceable.
It also has a strict no-logging policy so that your internet message isn’t recorded anywhere. 12 month subscriptions which works out at $4.17 per month. Encrypt.me (formerly known as Cloak) is a simple, cross-platform VPN that you can download for Mac, Windows, Android and iOS. Encrypt.me is very straightforward. Once you’re connected to a network, it gives the option to secure the connection or continue using it unsecured. Encrypt.me doesn’t have many other features and the regions are based on continents not countries.
You can however set up rules for trusted networks that you always want to connect securely to. If you want an extremely simple VPN with virtually no customization necessary, Encrypt.me maybe for you. Encrypt.me costs $9.99 per month or $99.99 per year. You can also first.
Is powered by OpenVPN and has around 22 million users although most of these are on Windows rather than Mac. Although ZenMate Ultimate offers secure browsing and identity protection, one of the main appeals is the deal it runs with MacAfee.
You currently get a free one year license of McAfee Total Protection anti-virus software with every one or two-year ZenUltimate subscription. Again though, this is of more interest to Windows users than Mac users as anti-virus software is not as essential on macOS.
One thing ZenMate is missing is a kill switch so if your connection stops working or get unsecured for any reason, it’s not as easy to switch it off. ZenMate normally costs $11.99 per month but you can. Is from the makers of Avast Anti-Virus and is based on both OpenVPN and OpenSSL. It’s a cross-platform VPN designed to protect all of your devices. Avast SecureLine offers 29 locations in 19 countries. It has special support for P2P networking, lag-sensitive twitch gameplay and it blocks IPv6 requests.
All traffic is encrypted with 256-bit encryption and Avast has a no logging policy so it doesn’t know which apps, websites or content you’re engaged with. Subscriptions for starting at $5.33 per month. OVPN is a Swedish based VPN which is based on OpenVPN and pledges the most extreme “no logs” policy anywhere. Unlike many VPNs, OVPN is configured so that no logs are even temporarily stored on its servers. What we like about OVPN is that they’re very transparent about what security measures they take even down to they’ve used on servers to prevent logging. OVPN has a browser extension that allows you to easily activate the VPN at any moment. OVPN even goes as far as taking insurance out for users to help protect members in case of legal demands for user information.
OVPN is currently offering 30% off 12 month subscriptions making it $7 per month. Hide.me claims to be the fastest VPN in the world because it uses over 160 servers with 1GB uplinks. Although there are other VPNS like Private Internet Access (PIA) that use Gigabit connections, Hide.me is one of the only providers that offers this. Hide.me doesn’t store any logs and uses a variety of protocols including IKEv2, PPTP, L2TP, IPsec, OpenVPN, Softether, Socks and SSTP. Hide.me starts from $4.99 per month although this only allows a maximum of 75GB data transfer and once connection. The Plus plan starts at $9.99 per month and allows unlimited data transfer and 5 simultaneous connections. Norton is one of the biggest names in online security, mainly because of its anti-virus software.
If you’re therefore looking for a combined anti-virus and VPN solution for your Mac, Norton Secure might be a good option for you. Norton uses bank grade encryption to secure connections, does not log your browsing and makes it easy to switch locations in a few clicks.
One unique feature included with Norton Secure VPN is an ad tracking blocker so that it intercepts cookies and removes any identifying information so you can’t be tracked. This blocks sites from tracking you or serving annoying ads/popups. Norton Secure VPN is available from $7.99 per month but the best deals are when you buy the Norton Security and VPN bundle together.
IPVanish VPN is another extremely fast VPN software which allows P2P and automatic IP switching to ensure you always get the speediest possible download and upload speeds. IPVanish VPN does not log activities or app usage and offers connections in over 60 countries.
It owns over 1000 anonymous servers across the globe to protect your identity. There’s also iOS apps for iPhone and iPad and it also works on Android and Windows.
IPVanish is currently offering 46% off 1 year subscriptions making it $6.49 per month. NordVPN CyberGhost HotSpot Shield ExpressVPN Servers 5238 3141 2500+ 148 Countries 62 60 25 94 Mobile App ✔️ ✔️ ✔️ ✔️ Simultaneous Connections 6 7 5 3 No Logs ✔️ ✔️ ✔️ ✔️ Kill Switch ✔️ ✔️ ✔️ ✔️ Mac Desktop App ✔️ ✔️ ✔️ ✔️ Discount Using a VPN with a VPN router Finally, if you really want to take your maximize your security using a VPN, then you need a dedicated VPN router. Most standard routers or those provided by ISPs can still be vulnerable to attack or snooping even if you use a VPN to secure your internet connection.
A VPN router is far more secure and guarantees snooping against even the most aggressive attempts to steal your data. There aren’t many dedicated VPN routers on the market but one worth checking out is Swedish based which work with all VPN networks that support the OpenVPN protocol such as.